Railroad-cab seat



G. A. SMITH. RAILROAD OAR sEAT.

No. 25,448. Paterited Sept.13, 1859.

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' STATES PATENT OFFICE.

O. A. SMITH, OF PIERMONT, NEW YORK.

RAILROAD-GAR SEAT.

Specification of Letters Patent No To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, C. A. SMITH, of Piermont, in the county of Rockland and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Railroad-Car Seat; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification, in which Figure 1 represents a transverse vertical section of my seat in an upright position. Fig. 2 is a similar section of my seat in an inclined position.

Similar letters of reference in both views indicate corresponding parts.

The most convenient position for persons to sleep in moving rail-road cars is undoubt edly not on horizontal or nearly horizontal planes or beds. In this position the body has not sufiicient stability to be kept from rolling and sliding, through the influence of the jerking and jumping motion of the car, and only few persons will be able, under such circumstances, to indulge in a sound sleep. The body of the sleeping passenger must be brought in such a position that the motion of the car has as little influence on the same as possible, and in order to make an improvement in car seats more acceptable to rail road companies, said improvement ought to be of such a nature that the old seats can readily, and without much expense, be changed into seats of the new and improved construction.

WVith this double object in view I have arranged my seat in such a manner that the bottom and back move together on the same pivot when it is desired to give to the seat more or less inclination and that the back moves independent from the bottom but also on the same pivot when it is desired to reverse the seats. By this arrangement the seat can be brought to any desired inclination; and it is arrested in its position by means of a spring catch and notched arc, the operation of which is so simple that it can easily be. understood by such persons even which are entirely unacquainted with mechanical operations.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention I will proceed to de scribe its construction and operation.

When my seat is in an upright position, as represented in Fig. 1, it resembles a com mon car seat very closely. The bottom, A,

. 25,448, dated September 13, 1859.

is suspended from two arms, B B, which unite on the top, being secured to the side of the car and to the usual standards on the in side of the seat by pivots, a. Said pivots serve, at the same time, to retain the arms, C, to which the backs, D, are attached, in the usual manner so that the same can be reversed according to the fancy of the passenger who occupies the seat.

Instead of making the back as low as usual, I'make mine high enough to serve as a resting place not only for the back of the passenger but also for its head. The same object may however be obtained by attaching to backs of the usual height head-rests, E, as shown in Fig. 1. I do not intend, however, to use such head rests when I construct my seats entirely new: they will be required only when I have to change seats of the usual construction according to my improvements. The seat is steadied in its motion by a sliding brake, F, constructed of several indiarubber springs, b, that force a plate, 0, out against the side of the car, and a screw rod, (Z', the head of which projects beyond the standard on the inner side of the seat and which screws into the side of the car, serves to regulate the action of this brake.

A spring catch, 6, which is operated by a knob on the side of the seat, and which acts against a notched arc, f, serves to retain the seat in any desired inclination. Under the bottom are the foot boards, 9, arranged in the usual manner.

If my seat is in an upright position, as shown in Fig. 1, the back can be reversed on the pivot, a, in the usual manner, and persons used to travel on rail roads will find nothing unusual in it. If the seat is brought in an inclined position as represented in Fig. 2, the bottom and the back swing on the same pivot, a, which makes my seat exceedingly simple in its construction, and besides, ordinary seats can be changed with very little expense according to my improvements. In this inclined position my seat offers the most comfortable resting place, the body of the passenger as he reclines being firmly wedged in so that the motion of the car has no disturbing influence on the same.

A decided advantage of my seat over others of similar construction is, that the bottom of the seat is always used as the bottom, and the back as the back. The bottom will always be more apt to become soiled than the back, and if a soiled bottom is turned up to take the position of the back, it will be very injurious to the Wearing apparel of the better class of passengers. For this reason I have suspended my bottom in such a manner that it swings on the pivot, a, Without ever being used in any other capacity than as the bottom.

I do not claim broadly the arrangement of a car seat in such a manner that the bottom together with the back can be brought to any desired inclination, as this has been done before in various, but more complicated Ways than mine.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The arrangement of the back and bottom of a car seat as described, so that when the seat is adjusted to an inclined position both parts move together on the same pivot, a, on which the back moves independent from the bottom, When the seat is reversed, substantially as specified.

2. I do not claim the notched arc and spring catch independent from my other arrangements; but I claim the spring catch, 6, notched are, f, bottom, A, and back, D, when the same are arranged and combined as here in described.

C. A, SMITH.

Witnesses: J F. BUCKLEY, V. I-IAUFT. 

